The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking - Album Release and Artwork

Album Release and Artwork

As the original album was released in January 1984 on the traditional two-sided vinyl LP and cassette formats, in keeping with Waters' concept there are a few seconds missing between sides one and two, allowing the listener to flip the record (or turn the cassette), thus keeping the second half starting at exactly 4:50 AM as planned. When the album was released on CD a few years later however, this short gap was lost due to continuous play, throwing the time back several seconds. Also, the times for "4:37 AM (Arabs With Knives and West German Skies)" and "4:47 AM (The Remains of Our Love)" on the first side are incorrect: the songs begin several seconds earlier than indicated, as they start during the seconds of "4:36 AM" and "4:46 AM", respectively.

As for the design of the album itself, Gerald Scarfe, who had created the album artwork and some animation for Pink Floyd's The Wall album, created all the graphics and animation for the Pros and Cons album. Its cover prompted controversy for featuring a rear-view nude photograph of model and softcore pornography actress Linzi Drew. It was condemned by some feminist groups and was considered sexist with some claiming it even advertised rape. Many posters advertising the album worldwide were ripped down and destroyed by protesters. Although it was originally released with the nudity intact, subsequent editions distributed by Columbia Records censored Drew's buttocks with a black box, although under the correct lighting her buttocks are still visible. and it is this censored version that remains the only version available in regions such as the United States and Japan where the record is distributed solely by Columbia.

'Roger's a very different sort of person . I have tremendous respect for him. He's a very clever man, but he is very serious. When Eric and I toured with him, he wanted everything exactly the same as the record, which, unfortunately, kind of took the fun out of performing.' — Tim Renwick, guitar player

In the end, due to the massive preparations, set up and expense of the shows, Waters himself lost almost a million dollars by the end of the tour.